shit that i do

Jun 20 I Cut Off the Last Portion of That Sentence

"All just sit around feeling love for one another." I don't love everyone. I accept everyone. But I sure don't love everyone. My hope, and it's a selfish one, is that we can all make a living doing what we love so that we don't have to "all just sit around feeling love for one another," because who wants to do that? My unconditional acceptance extends wide. However, my unconditional love is selective because it's unconditional love. I have not yet succeeded at that life goal, making a living doing what I love. I'm trying right now, but it's slow going. I've been thinking hard about the project of turning ethnography into fiction. Like Paul Stoller and Reginald McKnight. I'm curious about it. I don't want to write fiction, but I do want to write something that is impactful and is good storytelling. I currently work for a super cool farmer who speaks about his lengthy and unquestionably impactful life as though it were a Gabriel García Márquez novel. Magical realism in rural SE Michigan, y'all. Straight up. It's one of my favorite parts of the job.

I am an ethnomusicologist, which is basically the ethnographic study of music from the perspective of the people who make the music/culture/musical culture/many other things. For many years, I held the value of ethnomusicology safe in my heart, but I also kept it a secret, a little bit. Almost no one knows what ethnomusicology is. Nearly no one has heard that term. I grew weary of defining it, so I stopped. But ethnomusicology is life and it's not a good idea to underestimate the reach of its history and the shape of its impact. A basic premise of ethnography, and, by methodological association, anthropology and ethnomusicology, is participant observation. A scholar who is prepared to ethically observe and document cultural behavior and/or performance enters a community, broadly defined, participates in community activities (in my case, Detroit techno dance parties, fuck yeah), and then responsibly determines analytical approaches that most closely match those cultural philosophies of the group of research consultants.

I am working on a political and social manifesto via ethnography. Ethnography allows for the thick description of life. What's up, Geertz. I haven't thought about you in more than a minute. When we stay inside our homes and inside our hearts, it's not enough. We get stuck. We fear what we don't know without intending to. I have spent a few years insulating my life because I needed to take care of my family, above all else. It will always be that way. I am now ready to branch out and help other communities, including my own in Ypsilanti, MIchigan.

I love espresso. I enjoy it daily. I regularly consider it's health improving properties. I think it's a very slight mood elevator. And I'm speaking of espresso specifically. But also generally. Sweet sweet roasted coffee beans brewed in all the ways that espresso can be made; with limited amounts of water in relation to coffee. I have learned from friends and family that it can help with head aches, and maybe even sleep challenges. But it can also be challenging to digest. It requires moderation, digestive enzymes (including pineapple and other acidic foods; often the problem is a lack of acid, not too much), and an already healthy diet.

I am about to share something with you that consistently results in confused, even disturbed looks. I am currently ingesting my placenta from my third pregnancy. I kept it for 8 years in four different freezers without intending to. This spring, I dehydrated it and then ground it up. I intended to encapsulate it, but that is so time consuming, and my time is valuable, so I put measured amounts of dried placenta jerky into my juice and other things that I consume. It does magic for any type of hormonal challenge - in women, obvs. Maybe it does cool shit for men, too. But I don't know, and I'm not terribly interested in sharing mine.